Bombay man wins one crore on KBC

After three months of anticipation, Kaun Banega Crorepati finally has a crorepati.

Harshavardhan Nawathe, a resident of Ghatkopar, north Bombay, won the coveted crore in a show recorded on Thursday.

Nawathe is excited. "I feel good," he told rediff.com before refusing to comment further. The rules for the show taking India by storm forbid a winner from speaking to the media until the episode is aired. Winners cannot even inform friends or relatives about their triumph.

Nawathe's programme will be telecast on October 19. He is 26 and studying for the civil service examination.

KBC, modelled on the smash British hit, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, has 15 general knowledge questions, which contestants need to answer to win a crore (Rs 10 million).

Until Nawathe's win, the highest any contestant won was Rs 50 lakhs, when R C Dubey, a Calcutta shopkeeper, answered 14 questions. However, Dubey could not answer question 15 ('Which Indian footballer scored a hat-trick in an Olympic match?) and withdrew from the contest.

Sources said Amitabh Bachchan, the programme's popular host, will take the participant's seat himself on October 11, his 58th birthday. In his usual perch will be KBC producer, Siddharth Basu, himself a wellknown quizmaster.